


Infinite Possibilities

by AwesomeMango7



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Alcohol, Blits and Chitz, Dimension B-183, Dimension C-137, Dreams, Emotional, Fun, I’m a 15yr old virgin I don’t know shit about sex, Kissing, M/M, Might have smut if I get brave, Morty is Shocked, Plz don’t judge me, Probably ooc, Rick is kinda nicer to Morty in this fic?, Rick is mostly chill, Roy Games, Secrets, That last one is obvious, cursing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-21 07:45:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14911262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwesomeMango7/pseuds/AwesomeMango7
Summary: Rick and Morty of C-137 go to Blits and Chitz for a day of video game fun, where they run into Rick and Morty of B-183 who,  unbeknownst to them, are in a relationship.





	1. New Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully this turned out okay. Please enjoy!

“Fuck YEAH!” Rick bragged, throwing a fist bump into the air as he cheered with victory.

 

“W-what?!” Morty groaned, looking at the scoreboard with suspicion and frustration. “T-there’s no way— you cheated, didn’t you!” He mock-glared up at Rick, placing his hands on his hips.

 

“G-Geez, Morty, didn’t know you were such a sore loser.” Rick joked, ruffling the boy’s hair as he pouted up at him.

 

“I-I-I am not!” Morty swatted his hand away, gesturing to the Roy 3 game, multiplayer edition. “Y-y-you’ve beat me _six_ times now, Rick! I mean, Jesus Christ! I can’t be _that_ bad!”

 

“Well, deal with it sucka, ‘cause this guy is on fire!” Rick pointed at himself with his thumps, wickedly grinning as he continued to boast about his sixth win in a row. “ _You_ owe me a drink, twerp.”

 

“Aw, come on Rick!” Morty groaned. “T-that would take up _all_ of my tickets, a-and then I won’t be able to get a prize!”

 

“A d-deal is a deal, Morty!” The scientist urged, feeling weirdly satisfied and content with himself. “Now go!” Rick said, pushing Morty down a row of arcade games. “G-get me a Purple Polluinex, Morty! G-get my drink! Go! I’ll be beating other players while you get it for me.”

 

“Fine! Geez, Rick, okay!” Morty started walking on his own, heading down the row of arcade games towards the concession stand. “I’ll b-be right back.

 

Rick was already turning his attention back to the Roy game, the next player in line challenging him.

 

Morty rolled his eyes, feeling frustrated. He had tried so hard the last couple of times, and even when he repeatedly beat his own high score, Rick continued to defeat him. It’s almost like it was rigged, but knowing Rick, it probably wasn’t. He had always been exceedingly good at the Roy games due to his unique ability to somehow become aware that he was in a video game while playing it.

Morty had never become aware of that fact while in the games, and it caused him to have a weird sort of existential crisis each time he woke up. Because of this fact, Rick liked to screw with him while in the game by talking about some guy named Morty while he busy thinking he was a guy named Matthew.

Despite always being unaware that he was in a video game, and that he was actually the Morty person Rick had referred to, he still felt this weird drive to defeat Rick’s character, Roy, in the game, and each time he’d played it today he’d gotten more and more determined.

He knew he shouldn’t have made that darn bet! Morty just knew Rick would inevitably win, but he’d hoped he could do it this time. Obviously, he failed, and now he was going to have to spend his tickets on a drink for Rick.

Speaking of, he pulled his tickets out of his back pocket and started counting them out, seeing how many he had to make sure he had enough for the drink. He was so lost in counting that when he turned around a corner of arcade-like games, he crashed directly into someone.

“Oh Geez!” Morty stammered quickly, his tickets fumbling out of his hands and to the floor. “Sorry—“ he froze when he looked up at the person he’d crashed into. It was... _Rick_?? The hell was he doing over here? “Rick?? I though you were gonna wait by the Roy game!” Morty frowned, wondering how Rick had made it all the way over here before him.

Rick looked confused for a moment, his brow raising on his forehead before recognition washed over his features. “Oh, uh, I-I don’t think I’m your Rick.” He said. “I-I’m Rick B-183.”

Morty’s mouth formed into an ‘o’ shape, and he suddenly felt a little awkward and dumb. “I-I, oh, um, I’m Morty C-137.” He gave him a nervous smile, holding his hand out to his alternate-dimensional grandfather. “I-I don’t meet very many other Rick’s, or-or-or Morty’s even. Uh, n-nice to meet you!”

Rick B-183 shook his hand. “Yeah. L-likewise.”

Suddenly, another Morty appeared by the Rick’s side, not having noticed Morty C-137 yet as he seemed to be counting his own tickets. “Rick, I-I need twenty-four more t-tickets to get that CD.” Morty B-183 sighed. When he looked up, he jumped slightly, not expecting to see what was basically a reflection of himself.

“M-Morty, this is Morty from C-137.” Rick B-183 introduced him, noticing the kid’s nerves. This Rick seemed a bit nicer than his own, his voice calmer and his posture less slouched. Even his hair seemed to be more kept and fuller— like he’d aged better than his own Rick had.

Morty B-183 look at Morty C-137 with surprise before he held out his hand to him, a friendly smile adorning his face. And this Morty seemed more confident then he was... “N-Nice to meet you!” He greeted.

Morty C-137 awkwardly chuckled, shaking his hand. “Y-you too.” He bent down, starting to gather his dropped tickets. The other Morty helped him until they got all of them together, and C-137 put them back in his pocket. He glanced back up at the Rick. “S-Sorry for crashing into you like that.” He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. “W-w-wasn’t really paying attention to my surroundings...”

“It’s alright, kid.” Rick B-183 waved him off, not giving off even the slightest amount of annoyance. The mannerisms of this Rick were strikingly different from his own Rick’s. He didn’t seem to be as drunk as his own Rick, and he was way calmer and almost... shy? Or maybe just not as talkative? “Your Rick around here somewhere?”

“Y-yeah, he’s down by Roy 3.” Morty pointed in his general direction, however he couldn’t actually be seen through all the aliens and arcade games in the way.

“Oh, cool!” Morty B-183 said. “W-we were just heading down there! Is the game any good? I’ve been w-waiting for it to come out for months!”

“Y-yeah, it’s pretty good.” Morty C-137 shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets and frowning. “B-but I keep loosing to my Rick, a-and I lost a bet so now I have to spend all my tickets on a drink for him.”

Rick B-183 laughed. “Y-yeah, t-that sounds like something one of me’s would do.”

His Morty elbowed him playfully before turning back to Morty C-137. “How a-about we meet you down there? W-we could do a 2 v.s. 2. Morty’s v.s. Rick’s.” He suggested, sounding hopeful. He looked like he was waiting in anticipation for C-137’s answer.

They both knew that they’d both still probably fail against both Rick’s, but it sounded like a fun idea. “Y-yeah, sure!” He smiled. He was already starting to like this pair. They seemed different from him and his Rick, but somehow also the same. “I-I just gotta get my Rick that drink.”

“Great! See y-you down there. We’ll get to know your Rick while you’re gone.”

With that, they parted ways, the B-183 pair headed down to the Roy 3 game where Rick was, and Morty C-137 headed to the concession stand.

He had to wait in line for a few minutes before he could order Rick his ‘Purple Polluinex’ drink, whatever the hell might be contained in it. The drink, of course, was purple. But it also smelled sort of like limes, grapes, and alcohol mixed together, causing the teen to gag. It was also a little fizzy, which, for some reason, bothered Morty.

He went back to the Roy 3 game to find both the Rick’s chatting with each other, and Morty B-183 sitting on a chair that was next to the arcade game. He had a large dopey smile on his face and he was swinging his legs as he watched the Rick’s converse with each other.

As Morty C-137 approached, both Rick’s turned to him. He looked between the two, noting their postures and expression before settling on the Rick that looked a little more slouched and had a slight frown. He held the drink out to him. “H-here ya go, Rick.” He glared. “Wasted all my tickets on this Purple... w-whatever it’s called.”

Both Ricks looked confused, and the more slouched one gave him a warm, proud smile. “H-how’d you know I was your Rick?” He took the drink from him, taking a large gulp. He seemed genuinely surprised and proud that Morty could tell them apart.

Morty B-183 hopped off of his chair. “Y-you actually look fairly different from my Rick. D-different postures, d-different resting expressions... h-hell, your hair even looks a little different.” He shrugged, moving to stand next to his own Rick. “T-that’s how he could tell. B-but just in case we get confused, I-I think I have an idea.”

Rick B-183 rose a brow, smiling at his Morty curiously. “Oh? And w-what’s that?”

“Can I wear your l-lab coat?” Morty B-183 asked his Rick.

Rick C-137 nearly choked on his drink, but the other pair ignored him.

Both of the B-183 pair blushed slightly before the Rick took off his lab coat and gave it to his Morty, who gratefully took it and put it on. The tail dragged behind him due to his short height, and the sleeves were longer than his arms. He had to roll them up just to grab one of the Roy helmets. He looked absolutely dwarfed in Rick’s lab coat. “There! N-now we’ll be able to tell who’s who if we ever get confused for some reason.”

“Ha, that’s p-pretty— uh, pretty smart.” Morty C-137 said, knowing now that this Morty was not only more confident than him, but he was much more clever, too.

All four of them started playing the Roy game, Morty’s v.s. the Rick’s.

They all started off as siblings in the game, but as they grew older they started to compete for the will of the theater their grandmother owned. They started to side with each other, the two Morty’s teaming up against the Rick’s. Over several years of trying to beat each other, the will had been given to the Morty’s.

When they woke up from the game, Morty C-137 was so shocked. Him and Morty B-183 cheered with victory, fist-bumping and bragging about it.

They played about three or four more rounds, each side getting equal amounts of wins. Each round had a different story line with different second, third, and fourth players. First player as always randomized with who would be Roy.

Eventually, they started to switch things up. Morty C-137 teamed up with his Rick this time, and the other pair teamed up with each other as well. In this one, they were all school friends in high school. They had a falling out and split up into two groups. The rest of their lives continued with the two pairs fighting each other, and competing for customers once they both started up restaurants. It started to get weird when the B-183 pair got married in the game somewhere in their mid 20s, and then got divorced when they where in their 40s. Somehow even after that, they got back together several years later and died a happy couple because of old age. 

The B-183 pair had won that round for having the happiest life.

When they all woke up, C-137 Morty and Rick both decided not to say anything about it, because it was just a _game._ But then it happened again in the next three games they played, and they won each round.

Tired, the four of them sat down to eat some pizza and relax for a bit. They sat down at a four person table, each sitting next to their respective Rick/Morty. Morty C-137 noticed that the B-183 pair seemed to lean into each other slightly, and were sitting just a tad too close together. Him and his Rick sat pretty far apart compared to them.

Once again, he decided to ignore it. They all talked about what their respective universes were like. Apparently the Beth in the B-183 universe stopped drinking wine, and Jerry was actually able to keep a stable job all throughout Morty’s life. He was a cash register and his pathetic personality was still the same, so Rick B-183 still hated his guts.

Morty C-137 explained a few things about his universe that he was surprised weren’t the same in the B-183 universe. He did find out that they’d all gone on some of the same adventures together. Like, they had all gone on an adventure where Rick created an incepter so that they could incept Morty’s math teacher to get him A’s. And all of them had parasites invade their home and screw with their memories. Best yet, they had all gone through their toxins being removed at a spa that was supposed to _relax_ them.

However, he also found out that they’d found different solutions to some of their adventures. Morty B-183 was a lot more brave, confident, and smart than him... and it made him feel kinda bad. He’d saved his Rick from all sorts of harm, and caused less problems than he did for his Rick.

For example, when Rick and Morty from B-183 got stuck on the purge planet, Morty only killed one person, instead of having a mental breakdown and going on an insane killing spree. He was apparently also a better shot, and for some reason had better grades in school. The pair from B-183 also had no clue what they were talking about when they told them about the whole cronenburg incident, because apparently this Morty had never even gone to the Flu Season Dance.

What Morty C-137 found really interesting, though, was when Morty B-183 asked him if he was the ‘One True Morty.’ To which, he’d laughed his ass off to until he realized he was being serious. Apparently there were stories going around the citadel about him between Mortys. And it was all simply because he’d motivated the Mortys who were captured by Evil Rick to stand up for themselves. He hastily explained that there was no such thing as the ‘One True Morty,’ because technically, they were all Mortys, and if they’re _literally_ Morty, doesn’t that make all of them a ‘True Morty’?

Morty B-183 seemed satisfied and happy with Morty C-137’s response, like his words had lifted a weight off of his shoulders.

It was kinda fun talking to someone who could relate to him, despite being different in a lot of ways. But it also made him feel like shit because this version of himself was so much better than him. He couldn’t be mad, though. That would be shallow of him.

Eventually, the two pairs said their goodbyes because they were interested in other games.

The Morty’s exchanges Interdimensional phone numbers so they could keep in touch.

“Wow, R-Rick.” Morty C-137 said to his Rick after they said goodbye. “W-why don’t we hang out with more R-Rick’s and Morty’s?”

“B-Because Rick’s don’t just... ‘ _hang out_ ,’ Morty.” He used quotation marks with his hands as he said ‘hang out.’ “However, if we just so happen to run into each other, w-we either try to kill the other, or we hang out and talk. D-depends on the Rick, depends on the day, blah blah, and all that jazz.”

Morty winced. “Geez, Rick, why would you k-kill each other?”

“Morty, w-we’re Rick’s.” Rick rolled his eyes as if the answer to his question should have been extremely obvious. “W-we know ourselves pretty darn well. Well enough to know that w-we’re back-stabbing a-holes who only do shit for personal gain.” He explained. “A-and if a Rick is standing in the way of w-what we’re trying to get, then we’ll kill them.”

“W-why didn’t you try to kill Rick B-183?” Morty asked. “And vise versa...” he added.

“We’re at Blits and Chitz, motherfucker!” Rick cheered, smirking down at him. “The only thing h-he was after was s-some video games, a-and there’s nothing l-like playing against someone that t-thinks exactly the way you do.”

Morty laughed. “Speaking of, w-what game are we playing next? T-the other Rick said they w-were heading down to that Monster Car VR game t-that we played earlier.” That’s why they had split up. They had already spent about two hours playing that game, and they didn’t want to play it again, so they parted ways.

“W-were going to play Spaceship Maniac!” Rick smiled. “I-I-It’s actually kinda l-like Mario, b-but with a bunch of space bullshit, and the m-maps are inside of giant ships.”

“Oh, cool!” Morty smiled back, excited to see what else the game had in store.

They played for about thirty minutes before Morty said he needed take a piss, and he left Rick at the arcade game to go find the bathroom. There were four bathrooms, but Morty couldn’t decipher what any of them meant. Apparently there were four genders...? What on Earth could the other two be?

He just decided to enter one, hoping for the best. Immediately, he felt a little anxious entering a public bathroom on a different planet, memories of King Jelly bean flashing through his mind. But the chance of that happening again was slim, and if it did, he was at least 65% sure he could handle the situation and get the other person off of him.

As he entered the bathroom, however, he was so shocked by the sight before him that he squeaked in surprise. Right in front of him were the B-183 pair from earlier. If this was any other situation, he would have been happy to see them. But instead he was shocked, all the way down to his core, because they were literally _making out_ against the wall. Rick’s hands were up Morty’s shirt, and Morty’s hands were threading through Rick’s hair. And they were pressed _so fucking close together against the wall_. He stared for moment as his brain tried to process what the hell he was looking at.

Suddenly everything made sense. It made sense why they married each other in the Roy game, and why they sat _so_ close together at the table. It explained why Rick was okay with giving him his lab coat without any protest at all, and why this Morty had never gone to the Flu Season Dance.

The B-183 pair pushed themselves apart at the sound of Morty’s squeak, and with equally shocked looks on their faces, they stared back at him. Their faces flushed a bright red as they waited for Morty to make the next move. They looked like deers caught in headlights, unable to move or speak. 

Morty C-137 broke into a nervous sweat, his hands getting a little shaky as anxiety slammed through him. He was _not_ supposed to see that. “I-I-I-I, o-okay, um, w-wow, s-sorry, I’ll-I’ll just use a different bath—bathroom. Sorry. I’m s-sorry. Sorry.” He began quickly backing out of the bathroom, ignoring the other Morty as he called for him to wait.

He didn’t go to another bathroom. He still needed to piss, but he needed to compose himself before he headed back to the bathroom. Had he really just seen that? A Rick and a Morty _kissing?_ Holy fucking shit on a biscuit. Sure, he’d thought about the possibility before, but he’d never expect it would actually be a thing in some dimensions! They were _grandpa_ and _grandson,_ for crying out loud! Things like that weren’t supposed to happen! And obviously that Rick and Morty had wanted to keep it private because they didn’t display any PDA in front of them, and they didn’t mention it. He’d basically invaded in on their privacy, and saw something that he _did not want to see._ Holy fuck. _Holy fucking shit._

He found an abandoned arcade game and sat behind it as his thoughts raced. He had just spent several hours playing video games with a Morty that had most likely been fucked by his own grandpa. How does something like that even _start?_

... _what if that happened to him and his Rick?_ Morty lost his breath at that thought, and he started to shake his head. “D-Don’t think about it, Morty...” he whispered to himself, finding irony in the fact that he was using Rick’s little saying.

Morty’s phone went off in his pocket, and the confusion was enough to temporarily pull him from his panic. He pulled it out, and looked at the the screen. Rick was texting him, which he thought was weird because he didn’t have any internet connection. He mostly just brought his phone on adventures so that he could take pictures of nebulas, or cool things on other planets.

He slid his thumb across the screen, opening the chat.

 

_**Rick: Yo Mort, where you at? Your heart rate spiked bro. Did you run into trouble?** _

 

**_Morty: rick!! How r you texting me right now?!?!_ **

 

**_Rick: i installed something on your phone so that you and I can text on other planets. just in case._ **

 

_**Morty: when did u do that to my phone??? how did u know my heart rate went up??? And when the hell were you gonna tell me yoy basically hacked my phone??? :o** _

 

**_Rick: geez Morty, so many questions. You have nanobots in your bloodstream that keep track of your vital signs, and they alert me when something goes wrong. Do you not remember when I asked if I could inject them into you several months ago?_ **

 

**_Morty: no??????_ **

 

_**Rick: ugh, as brain dead as ever Morty. What happened? Where are you?** _

 

**_Morty: Im fine rick_ **

 

**_Rick: your heart rate is still beating like crazy, Morty. And I know you’re not having a jerk-off session, because your adrenaline levels are freaking out too. So tell me what happened and where you are._ **

 

**_Morty: geez!! its nothing rick!!! I swear. I just... saw something and it freaked me out a little bit. I’ll start heading back to the space-Mario game we were playing. Your still there right??_ **

 

**_Rick: it’s *you’re, and yes, I’m still there. Get your ass back over here._ **

 

Morty sighed, pushing himself up. At least it was nice to know Rick cares enough to keep track of his vital signs.

“Morty?” Morty jumped, looking up at the very familiar voice that called his name. Morty B-183 was a few feet away from him, a worried look etched across his face.

Morty C-137 looked away, stuffing his phone back in his pocket. He should’ve known B-183 would easily be able to track him down. They’re basically the same person. Well... besides the whole, uh... thing he saw in the bathroom. “...Geez, don’t sneak up on me like that...” He said, purposely avoiding the conversation that was inevitably going to happen.

“A-are you okay, man?” The Morty asked him wearily. 

Morty C-137 sighed. “I-I don’t know...” He admitted.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, C-137.” The Morty frowned.

“I-it’s fine!” He responded almost reflexively, shaking his head. “I-I-I didn’t really see much anyway, just... j-just... y-you know...”

“Yeah.” B-183 looked down at the ground.

After a few beats of silence, C-137 decided it would be better if they talked about this. After all, they worked together pretty well, and even though he was jealous of the fact that this Morty seemed better than him in every way he still seemed like a pretty good friend. He seemed like a friend even if... if he did certain things with his grandpa. “Can I, uh...” C-137 trailed off for a moment.

“Y-you have questions, right?” B-183 looked up, a serious expression on his face.

C-137 looked worried, his eyes widening slightly. “How’d y-you know?”

“This i-isn’t the first time this has happened. M-my Rick and I... we frequent the Citadel often, so it’s easier for people to catch on.” He explained, rubbing the back of his neck. His expression was calm, which made C-137 feel a little more calm as well.

C-137 took a deep breath. “H-how do most other Rick’s and Morty’s react...?” He asked, trying to be less awkward. _But how could he not be awkward?_

“W-well, Rick and Morty couples are not as rare as y-you think. M-most either react like you, o-or they don’t really care.” He said. C-137 felt his heart do a backflip at the word ‘couples.’ “Actually, I did some research on it when my Rick and I first got together. About 25% of Rick and Morty pairs get together, and another 25% of them are just attracted to each other, and... uh, fuck occasionally. The rest of them are just normal grandpa and grandson.”

C-137 looked surprised. “H-holy shit...” so that meant _half_ of the Rick’s and Morty’s in the finite curve _like_ each other in that way. And dare he say some of them might _love_ each other? He shivered at that thought, not knowing how he felt about that fact.

“I felt the same way you did, at first...” B-183 smirked at him, seeming to reminisce with some of his memories. “W-when I found out that there were Rick’s and Morty’s out there who were a couple, I had been going through some... issues. Y-you know, like... having dreams, and noticing things about Rick that I probably shouldn’t be noticing.”

“L-like what?” He asked quietly, curiosity getting the best of him. _But did he really want to know...?_

B-183 blushed, and looked away awkwardly. “Y-y’know, even if you’re not attracted to your own Rick in that way, y-you gotta admit that he’s pretty damn hot.” He paused. “A-and I don’t know about your Rick, but t-there’s a lot of aspects about my Rick’s personality that make my heart leap in my chest.” 

The blush on C-137’s face deepened a few shades to the point where he was nearly glowing. He could tell the other Morty was significantly summerizing how he felt about his own Rick, but he was still overwhelmed by what information he _had_ be given. “H-holy shit,” he sad, covering his face with his hands. Thinking about his grandfather in that way was completely foreign to him and it was making him feel _weird._ “I’m sorry.” He apologized, but he didn’t know why. He took a deep breath, calming himself as he thought over the situation. It was just so bizarre. But he knew that no matter how fucked up that kind of relationship was, there was only one question that actually mattered. “Okay. So... this l-last question is just to clear my hea— to clear my conscience.” He said. “A-are y-you—... are you _happy_ w-w-with your Rick? I-In that way?”

B-183 smiled at him warmly and genuinely, looking as if he was in a state of pure joy for a spare moment as he thought about his question. “I’m happy.” He confirmed. “In fact, I’m better than I was before Rick and I g-got together.”

C-137 took one more deep, calming breath. “Okay.” He said. “I-I’m good now.” He was fine with... _whatever_ is was that they had... as long as they were happy. Because, in the end, that’s all that really mattered, right? _Right?_ He wasn’t entirely okay— he was still in a shocked-like state, and his mind was running a thousand miles an hour. But he wanted to be okay, and this was where he was going to start. 

“So, w-we’re chill?” B-183 asked hopefully, playing with the bottom of his shirt and biting his lip anxiously. “You’re not... disgusted with me?”

The other teen shook his head, running a hand through his hair with a chuckle. “You said y-you and your Rick are happy.” C-137 shrugged, fiening complete nonchalantness. “Sure, I-it still kinda... f-f-freaks me out and blows my f— my mind, but... w-who am I to judge, w-when all you’re doing is what feels right to you?”

C-137 watched as relief washed over his dimensional doubles face. “O-oh thank god. Y-y-you’re a pretty cool dude, and I-I was worried you wouldn’t wanna be f-friends anymore after you saw that.”

“H-hey, you’re pretty cool too, man.” C-137 smiled at the complement. “I-I don’t get to meet other Mortys very often, so t-this was pretty cool. I’m glad we got to hang. B-but, ah, I should really be getting back to my Rick now. Y-you still have my number, so... hit me up if you ever wanna hang out again.”

“Definitely!” B-183 chuckled. “And speaking of... I-if you ever have any more questions about, um... me and Rick, feel free to ask.”

The Mortys said their final parting goodbyes and C-137 made a beeline back to his own Rick.

The scientist had grown impatient waiting for him, leaning against the ‘Spaceship Maniac’ arcade game with crossed arms. When he caught sight of the teen approaching him, he scowled at him. “T-the _fuck,_ Morty? Why w-were you gone so long?” He demanded. “What t-the hell happened?”

Morty sighed shakily. “I-I know we planned to spend the entire day here, but kind of wanna go home now, Rick.” The whole encounter had emotionally worn him down. “A-and if you really wanna know what happened, II’ll tell you in the spaceship...”

Rick was about to make an attempt at changing Morty’s mind and brushing him off in favor of continuing to have fun. But as he looked at the kid, he started to realize how tense and nervous he looked. He sighed heavily, rolling his eyes in exaggeration. “ _Fine._ “ he grabbed Morty’s arm and began dragging him to the exit, not stopping at the prize counter. He didn’t really mind missing out in getting a prize this time— they didn’t really have anything good up today, and if he didn’t spend his tickets now, he’d be able to spend them next time anyway.

Morty was quiet the entire way, all the way through the parking lot until finally they made it to the Spaceship. The teen got into the passengers seat while Rick got in he drivers seat.

“So, wha-what’s got you pussying out of Blits and Chitz, Morty?” Rick frowned at him, leaning back in his seat with a frustrated expression etched deeply into his face. He clearly wasn’t happy about this.

“Okay, geez, just...” Morty buried his face in his hands, feeling his face flush embarrassingly. “G-give me a second to gather my words...”

Rick sighed exasperatedly, but otherwise waited patiently for Morty to explain.

“Okay.” Morty said, pulling his hands away from his face and looking straight at Rick. “I-I didn’t get to use the bathroom because... b-because I walked into something I don’t think I was supposed to see...” He trailed off momentarily, scratching the back of his head. “Y-you remember the B-183 pair, r-right?”

Rick gave him an incredulous look. “Y-you think I forgot them already? Gee Morty, it’s not like we just spend several hours p-playing Roy with ‘em.” Morty glared at him and Rick sighed. “‘Course I remember, what about them?”

Morty looked down at his lap, feeling his cheeks heat up. _Again._ “W-well... I-I kinda— well, I walked in on them... k-ki—“ he cleared his throat anxiously, feeling like the words were stuck in his throat. “Kissing. T-they were like... f-full on making out, Rick. In t-the bathroom. A-and I kinda... I ran. And t-then Morty B-183 f-found me and t-talk to me...” Morty groaned as he crossed his arms over his chest. “F-fuck, I-I really freaked out, Rick...”

Rick’s face contorted in confusion for a moment before recognition seemed to set in. “Oh.” He said. “Oh damn. W-well, that fucking expl-uuuuURRrrp-explains a lot.” Despite himself, Rick felt his cheeks grow warm as well. “S-shit. I was wondering why t-they were acting all... _flustered._ I-I thought it was because they were nervous a-around us because of the damn rumors about us goin’ around the citadel.”

“Nope.” Morty hugged himself around the stomach, feeling knots of anxiety grow inside of him at the very thought. He couldn’t get the picture of the B-183 pair kissing out of his head. “But, uh... did y-you know that about h-half of the— half of us out there are actually I-I-in some k-kind if r-re— _fuck_ —half of us are in a relationship! S-so it’s actually pretty common...”

“Y-yeah, I’ve heard about it b-before.” Rick shrugged. “Infinite possibilities, amiright?” Rick tried to joke, punching Morty’s shoulder gently.

The teen didn’t laugh or give any sort of reaction to his joke, instead just staying in his hunched over form. And then a near terrifying thought popped into his head, and his eyes widened as he looked over at Rick. “Do you— a-are you—... _ugh.”_ He took a deep breath. “A-are you l-like... uh...” He trailed off.

Rick’s eyes widened at the question, understanding what he meant even though he didn’t say it. “No.” He said sternly. “Though,” He hesitated. “I-incest doesn’t really bother me all that much... I-I see it around all the time. If it was offered, I-I wouldn’t be _too_ opposed to it.” The scientist shrugged.

Morty sucked in a startled breath, inhaling some of his own spit as he did so and choking on it. “Fuck—“ He said between coughs, raising his arm to cover his mouth so he wouldn’t get his cough-germs all over the ship.

“Geez, M-Morty, y-you alright there, kid?” Rick asked, looking a little worried by Morty’s reaction as he patted the young boy on the back.

The teen continued hacking up near-violent coughs for the next few moments before answering. “No— I-I-I mean yes! Wait... ugh, _fuck!”_ Morty coughed again, shaking his head as his thoughts went down several different directions at the same time. “God damnit, Rick! Y-y-you can’t just say something l-like... like _that!_ “ The teen flashed him a glare. “ _Especially_ while I’m still get— still _freaking out_ about seeing them— uh, s-s-seeing them...” Morty groaned, slumping forward and laying his head on the dashboard.

“S-say something like what, Morty?” Rick asked, seeming to be at a loss for what he’d said that was so wrong.

Morty groaned again, rolling his eyes. Of-fucking-course. Rick seemed not to know any better sometimes— especially when it came to what was and _wasn’t_ appropriate to say to your grandkid. It was either the older man just didn’t care, or he just disregarded social norms _so_ much that he didn’t stop to think, _‘Hey, this might be weird to say to my grandson.’_

But nonetheless, Morty forgave him for it. He was convinced at this point that Rick literally didn’t know any better, and that wasn’t going to change any time soon. “Y-you can’t j-just tell me y-you’d be okay with screwing me i-if I suggested doing it, a-and not expect me to panic slightly, Rick.”

“I-I never said I’d _screw_ you—“

“Oh? So—so who’d you screw then, huh?” Morty said in a near taunting voice. “Mom? W-would you screw _Beth_ if she wanted it?” Morty was internally cringing at his own words, feeling disgusted as it conjured up un-wanted pictures in his head. But now that he was going, he found himself unable to stop for the time being. It was a fucked up implication, and Morty knew it. “H-h-how about dad? Maybe Summer? W-would you fuck _them?”_

Rick’s face set into a hard glare. He knew what Morty was implying— that if _anyone_ he’d probably do it with Morty. He didn’t like the accusation _at all._ “Morty—“

“No!” Morty interrupted, waving in Rick’s face dramatically in order to punctuate his next words. “Don’t _Morty_ me! T-this—this is k-kinda... it’s _fucked up,_ Rick! Y-you can’t— you can’t say...” He trailed off, feeling the fire inside of him die down. _God, he was being fucking ridiculous._

As Morty trailed off, Rick watched him patiently. And soon, the air was thick with a very tense silence. Morty drooped in his seat, slouching as frustrated tears that he couldn’t hold back built up in his eyes. He looked out the window back out to the entrance of the Blips and Chitz building. What he’d said was super fucked up and uncalled for. He’d basically accused Rick of something he wouldn’t ever do. Guilt was steadily settling into his head, twisting his stomach and making his heart ache.

“W-what the fuck, Morty?” Rick growled, leaning forward and grabbing the front of Morty’s piss-yellow t-shirt. He yanked the boy forward, holding him so close that Morty could smell the remanence of the drink he’d gotten the man earlier. “Y-you suggesting that—that I secretly wanna _fuck_ you, Morty? _Huh?_ “ He yanked on his shirt harshly, though he took care not to actually hurt him in any way. “Y-you think grandpa wants to _fuck_ your scrawny, pre-pubescent ass?”

Morty stared at him with wide eyes, grabbing Rick’s arms with his hands tightly as anxiety slammed through him. The words actually managed to hurt him, and it made Morty feel self-conscious. He didn’t know _why,_ but it did. It’s not like he wanted Rick to think he was attractive, or something. And he knew that, while Rick was being kind of rough with him right now, he wasn’t actually going to hurt him, but that didn’t make him any less afraid of what else Rick was going to say to him.

When he shook his head ‘no,’ Rick released him, shoving the boy back into his seat and leaning back into his own. “T-that’s what I f-fucking thought.” Rick growled, pulling his flask out of one of his lab coat pockets. Morty hadn’t seen that flask all day, and he’d been happy about it... but he’d ruined it. He’d said something fucked up for absolutely _no_ reason, and he’d ruined Rick’s mood.

“N-no, Morty, I wouldn’t fuck anyone in our family. Though, I-if I did happen to want that, _which I don’t_ ,“ Rick gave Morty a pointed glare to drive his point down, answering his question even though he was angry that Morty had accused him of it. “I-I wouldn’t hate myself for wanting it. I-I’ve seen too much shit in my life to care about something as _s-stupid_ as the ‘social norms’ of Earth.” He made quotations marks with his fingers around the words ‘social norms.’

“I-I’m sorry Rick.” Morty stammered, still feeling tons of guilt piled up on his shoulders. “I-I-I didn’t mean what I s-said.”

Rick scoffed.

“I-I mean it, Rick... I just...” He stopped, not wanting to make up excuses. _He_ didn’t even know why he said that stuff— why he _accused_ Rick without any sort of proof or indication.

“You just, _what?”_ The scientist took another swig from his flask, looking over at Morty expectantly.

Morty looked back at him, subconsciously playing with the bottom of his shirt. It was a nervous tick of his that he couldn’t seem to shake no matter how hard he tried. “I...” He paused, and then sighed. “I d-don’t know...” He rubbed at his face, composing himself and wiping away the tears that threatened to spill over. “I-I-I’m just stupid sometimes. I-I don’t have an excuse.” He shrugged sadly.

Rick sighed and his gaze softened. He seemed to, _somehow,_ understand Morty’s outburst, if only by a little bit. “Look, Morty, what they have... it’s what makes them happy, y’know?” He said. “I-It doesn’t mean that _we_ have to be anything like them. I-I’ve never... _wanted_ or _thought_ about being in that kind of relationship with... with _you.”_ Rick gestured to him. “But I-if we both ended up being a little bit fucked up in the head, and wanted to be together, I’d be willing to _try_ , is all I’m saying. If it made us happy, why the f-fuck not, y’know?”

Morty looked up at him, a soft chuckle escaping him. He’d said something really similar to Morty B-183, and he found it funny that Rick had the same general thoughts on the subject. However, there was one huge difference. “I-I hear where y-you’re coming from, but I don’t think I’d be able to h-h-handle it, if that happened.”

Rick rose one end of of brow. “What do you mean?”

“W-well, say I _did_ l-like... _you.”_ He explained, giving Rick I weary look. “I-I’m so used to Earth standards, that I’d probably _hate_ myself for liking you in that way.” He felt nauseous just thinking about it. “I-I wouldn’t handle feeling that way v-very well. I hardly understand how Morty B-183 can handle it.”

“W-well, I wouldn’t hate you for it.” Rick shrugged. “It’s not like you can c-control it. And p-plus, I kinda missed the years of your life where the Westermarck Effect could’ve taken action.”

Morty furrowed his brow. “West—westermark Effect?”

“Yeah,” Rick chuckled nervously. “I-it’s ah, it’s where... it’s a psychological effect through w-which people who live in close domestic proximity during the first few years of their lives become desensitized to sexual attraction.”

Morty furrowed his brow deeper. “What?”

Rick groaned, mentally face-palming for a second. “It’s the reason why y-you don’t wanna fuck your own mother, Morty. I-It’s a psychological effect in your brain.” He pointed at his head. “Since she w-was around during your toddler y-years, y-your brain put her on the ‘off-limits’ list. Y-your brain won’t l-let you be sexually attracted to her.”

Morty scrunched up his nose. “O-okay I get it, I get it! C-can we _please_ stop putting my mom and the word ‘sex’ in the same sentence. It’s grossing me out.”

“See what I mean?” Rick said, chuckling as Morty’s cheeks lit up with embarrassment. “I-I wasn’t there for those years where that effect could actually happen. M-maybe you’re not the kind of M-Morty who wants o-old man dick, but it’s possible for other versions of yourself to develop a crush on other version of myself.”

The teen shivered at the thought. He guessed, it wouldn’t be _so_ bad if him and Rick got together. He already spent most of his time with him, and he was practically his best friend. “R-Rick?” He asked, looking worriedly up at his grandfather.

“Hmm?” Rick hummed, giving him the go-ahead to continue.

“W-w-what if... if... well, since the idea is n-now in my h-head,” His heart was pounding in his ears. “What I-if I ended up developing a crush on you? W-what would we do?”

Rick rose the end of his brow again. “A-are you trying to tell me something, Morty?” He smirked teasingly.

“No!” Morty’s eyes widened as he defended himself, not wanting Rick to get the wrong idea. “T-this is purely hip— hypothetical right now, Rick! Hypothetical! One hundred and ten percent!”

Rick smirked at him in amusement. “I’m j-just joking w-with ya.” He assured, reaching forward to ruffle the teens hair. “But if t-that _did_ happen, I g-guess, _only_ if you wanted to, I’d be willing to experiment.” He shrugged. “B-but don’t hold that to me, I doubt you’ll ever want me that way.”

Morty’s face flushed red, reaching all the way from the tips of his ears to low on his neck. “Aw, geez...” he pulled the collar of his shirt over his head to hide his face.

Rick laughed joyously, patting Morty’s shoulder. “Geez, Morty, you’re so easy to f-fluster, y-ya fucking virgin.”

Morty groaned, sinking further into his shirt as Rick howled with laugher. “T-thought you said y-you wouldn’t want to screw my _‘scrawny, pre-pubescent ass.’_ ” He quoted, reiterating what Rick had said earlier.

“I don’t,” Rick said between laughs. “B-but that’s what experimenting is all about, M-Morty. I-It’s like ordering off of a menu y-you usually w-wouldn’t order off of j-just to see if you l-like it.”

Morty pulled his arms into his shirt and pulled his knees up to his chest, effectively hiding everything except for his hair, which was poking out of the top of his shirt. He was probably going to stretch his shirt out and ruin it, but right now he didn’t care. He was sure he was glowing red at this point, more flustered and embarrassed than he’d ever been in his life. He just wished his shirt would swallow him whole, and he’d vanish from existence.

After a few agonizing moments, Rick’s laughter finally died down, and he stared at Morty’s huddled form. “Morty?”

Morty didn’t answer him.

Rick sighed, patting the kids back. Softly, the scientist spoke. “W-what y-you saw today, I-it doesn’t have to mean anything— _shouldn’t_ mean anything. Not unless y-you ever want it to, which I highly doubt will ever happen.”

Morty was surprised by how kindly Rick was talking to him, not a hint of a joke or any annoyance at all. Rick was being genuine and real with him— something he didn’t do very often. It calmed the teen, and he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Y-yeah, okay.” He said, slowly untangling himself. Like he’d thought, his shirt was now slightly stretched out. He didn’t mind, though. He had plenty of other shirts that were just like this one.

Rick was looking at him curiously. “You good now?”

Morty nodded. “Yeah,” He said. “Yeah, I-I... I’m good now.” He smiled up at Rick, who returned the gesture. He’d heared what he needed to hear, he gussed. For the time being, he was okay. He could live with knowing other Rick’s and Morty’s were together.

With that, Rick started up the ship, and the two of them went home, content in the silence that was shared between them.

 

 


	2. Mixed-up Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morty’s confused. Kinda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sooooo.... the beginning is the closest thing I’ve ever written to smut. I’ve never written something like that, and I gotta admit, I’m super anxious about it. I really hope it’s not shit. Like... I’m a 15 yr old virgin, and I haven’t even seen a dick before, so is probably gonna be horrible... I apologize if it’s cringy...
> 
> And if it’s not, I hope you enjoy.

_Rick pushed into him repeatedly, hitting in just the right place with every thrust of his hips. Morty cried out, moaning Rick’s name as he threaded his hands through the older man’s hair. “Ohhh,_ _ahhh... **fuck** , R-Rick!”_

_“You like that, Morty?” Rick’s gravely voice whispered in his ear as he grazed his teeth over the soft cartilage. “Y-you like it when grandpa fucks you raw, baby boy?”_

_“Yes, Rick.” Morty moaned. He was **so close.**_

“ _S-say it,” Rick demanded, reaching his hand down to grasp Morty’s dick, pumping it slowly as he continued to pound into him. “L-let me hear you say it, baby.”_

_“R-Rick_ _—Ah—please, Rick, I—“ He cut himself off with another moan, clawing at Rick’s back desperately and leaving red lines along his skin. Everything felt so good_ _. “I-I love it—_ _hn—_ _I love it s-so much, grandpa! Ahhh!”_

_Morty was on the verge, so close to the edge. He could feel the familiar tightness in his abdomen, just about ready to burst._

_But before he could reach it, the edges of his vision started to grow dark, and suddenly he, and everything else, was slipping away. Rick’s face grew more and more distant as the darkness surrounded him, and before he knew it—_

 

* * *

Morty shot up in his bed, gasping as he tried to catch his breath. _It was just a fucking dream._ “Oh s-s-shit.” He said. “ _Ohshitohshitohshit._ ”

He panted, running a hand through his curly brown hair. He was drenched in sweat from head to toe, and he felt shame sweep through him at the sight of the tent under the blankets, concealing his erection. “ _Oh fuck,_ t-this can’t be happening.”

It had been two months since him and Rick had returned from Blits and Chitz, where they’d run into Rick and Morty from B-183.

Neither of them mentioned what had happened since that day, and continued to go on with adventures and life as normal.

Well, _mostly_ normal. On the outside, Morty acted normal. But... on the inside, he was still paranoid. Not of Rick, but of _himself._ He found it nearly impossible not to think of all the ‘what if’s.’ He began subconsciously looking at Rick in a different light, noticing things about how Rick carried himself, or how nimbly his fingers moved when he was working on a particularly intricate invention. The idea that him and Rick _could_ be in a relationship made his mind do a complete 180 degrease, and it was fucking with his head.

And, welp, now he’s having _dreams,_ apparently. And they only served to push towards his assumptions that he was developing a sort of crush on the man.

Just as he’d thought, he was disgusted with himself. He knew he shouldn’t feel that way, especially after the conversation he’d had with Rick about it, but he just couldn’t help it. He’d grown up with his brain programmed to follow the social rules of Earth. Coming to terms with feelings like... like _that_ was like going against everything he knew.

And for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to tell Rick. He was struggling with it immensely. He knew Rick would be totally chill with it, but that didn’t stop him from feeling completely embarrassed.

He also felt... like he wasn’t mature enough for Rick— or _something_ along those lines. He was sixteen, for crying out loud. And Rick was so much older than him. Rick was experienced in life, he knew so much more than he did, and he’d existed ages before Morty had even been a thought. He was just some dumb teenage boy who had a crush on someone who he felt was way out of his league.

In the end he’d only hold Rick back, and that’s one reason why he didn’t want to tell him. Morty wondered if Morty B-183 felt that way, too. Maybe he’d ask him later. _He’d have to actually grow some balls to ask him, though._

He’s always gotten easily flustered by Rick, but after the Blits and Chitz fiasco, the effect was magnified. His palms would get sweaty and his stutter would worsen, and his mind would draw a blank for a few moments.

Whenever Rick would praise him, he’d feel his heart swell with affection and his stomach would get butterflies. He became ten times more aware of how it felt whenever Rick would touch him, like when he ruffled his hair or grabbed his wrist so he could pull him along on an adventure. The feeling was almost _electric._

It’s like becoming aware of the fact that some of the Rick’s and Morty’s out there were in _some_ kind of relationship unlocked a part of his fucking brain, and suddenly all of his sexual desires and romantic feelings became directed at Rick against his will. It was _infuriating_.

He hadn’t felt like this before. Rick had just been _Rick,_ and that was it. Rick had been his crazy scientist grandfather, who was his favorite parental figure. _He’d seen him as a parental figure for the longest time, right? Or had that all just been an illusion? Had he only thought he felt that way?!_

If he really did think about it, though, he’d always seen Rick as more of a friend, if anything. Rick was his best friend. He guessed he never _really_ saw him as a “parental” figure, even when he’d addressed him as such during certain moments, but he’d mostly seen Rick as a friend. As his _best_ friend. Rick being a parental figure to him was laughable at best. Sure, he protected him, but he’s also the one who got him into danger in the first place.

Morty liked to picture Rick as that one crazy person that likes danger, and he, himself, was that one friend that always followed the crazy person around because of their unfaltering and blindly dumb loyalty. A classic character dynamic in many stories he’d seen in that past.

And nowadays, he couldn’t get Rick out of his fucking head, not even when he was _asleep._ Even at school, he was day dreaming about him, wishing he would burst into the classroom and whisk him away on some adventure so that they could spend the entire day together.

And even on the days that had actually happen, his hunger to constantly be near Rick was never satisfied. He was around Rick a lot more than he used to be, but if Rick noticed, he didn’t mention it. In fact, he seemed to be ecstatic about it. Morty always came to the garage after school ( _If_ he went to school), and when Rick would turn to greet him he could practically see the old man’s eyes light up, and a bright smile would etch it’s way onto his face— something he rarely got, but now saw every day.

On the days Morty assumed Rick might be too busy for him, he found that the man would start to seek him out himself. He was practically with Rick all the time, except for when at school, asleep, or in the bathroom.

It was a habit they’d formed _after_ the Blits and Chitz incident. Before, he had been usually too tired to chat with Rick in the garage after coming home from a long day of school, and would go up to his room for a bit to rest. And Rick would always be too focused on his work to want to bother with Morty until a little while later.

But now, he found himself feeling energized the second he got home, thinking about what he’d talk about with Rick. However, the energetic feeling would only last so long, and some days Morty would take a nap in the garage while Rick worked on some gadget beside him. The scientist would always wake the teen up a little while later, whenever Beth would call for dinner.

They had gotten so much closer in the past two months, and while he was elated to get closer to the person he cared about most, he was also terrified. He didn’t want to feel the way he did towards Rick. Hell, he didn’t even know he liked _guys_ until he started liking Rick, and it was freaking him out.

He’d always been comfortable with _not_ exploring his sexuality. As far as he had known, he was as straight as a pole. And he’d been content with identifying himself in that way for _years._ But now he couldn’t say that without knowing he was just lying to himself.

Just to make sure, he’d looked up gay porn a couple of times and had gotten off on it pretty quickly. It had been... _hot._ And the guys were very attractive, he noticed to his own surprise. In fact, he’d even enjoyed it more than the usual porn he’d watched before, with the classic guy on girl.

He wasn’t ashamed of liking guys, but he definitely wasn’t comfortable admitting to it right now, _especially_ since his new crush on Rick had only escalated since it had started.

Morty groaned, pulling his pillow on top of his head and letting out a frustrated scream. After a moment of just sitting there, he started to feel like the pillow was suffocating him, so he threw it to the side, along with his blanket, and stood up. The digital clock on his bedside table read ‘8:23 AM,’ so he knew his mother would be calling him for breakfast soon.

He grabbed a new set of clothes and made a his way to the bathroom. He didn’t knock, which he regretted almost _immediately,_ because he came face to face with Rick, who was only wearing a towel around his waste. He squeaked, mumbling out an apology as he closed the door again. A blush spread across his face like wildfire.

“W-what the fuck, Morty?!” He heard Rick’s muffled voice yell through the door. “E-uUURRrp-Ever heard of k-knocking?!”

“I-I’m sorry!” Morty apologized again as he leaned against the wall next to the door to wait. He wanted to yell back at him to lock the door next time, but he knew that arguing with Rick wouldn’t do him any good. He’d say something back, like, _‘It’s common human d-decency to f-fucking knock! I-I didn’t lock the door b-because I trusted that you would f-uUURRrp-fucking know something like that, Morty!’_ He internally groaned, making a mental note in his head to _never_ forget to knock again.

A few moments later Rick opened the door and muttered something along the lines of, _‘no damn privacy in this house.’_ Morty covered his crotch with his clothes to hide his hard-on as they passed each other in the door way, and the teen locked the door behind him, unlike Rick.

He sighed, placing his clothes on the sink counter and then getting the the shower. He shivered as the cold water sprayed down his back, and he impeccably managed to ignore his morning wood until it went away. He washed his hair, and “borrowed” some of Summer’s strawberry scented body wash.

When he was done, he got out, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and made his way downstairs to the dining room table.

Summer and Beth were already there waiting and he sat down in his usual place. There was a pile of pancakes in the center of the table, and Morty forked a couple of them onto his plate and began eating. Pretty soon, Jerry joined the table, and Rick was the last to arrive.

Everyone started eating, Jerry chatting with Beth about his upcoming interview, Summer texting on her phone with one hand as she ate with the other, and Rick and Morty eating in content silence as they listened to everything going on around them. Every so often Rick would say something insulting to Jerry, or him and Morty would share a knowing look whenever someone would say something particularly stupid.

It was an ordinary day, as far as everyone was concerned. Morty wondered how unordinary today would be if everyone knew the internal dilemma he was dealing with inside his head. His newly formed, _incestious_ desire for Rick. He could just imagine the look on his mother’s face— she would be _disgusted_ with him.

He visibly tensed at the thought, freezing mid-cut of his pancakes. He stared at his plate as he contemplated what it would be like if anyone, excluding Rick, found out about how he felt on the inside. His whole family would probably hate him, and would be completely disgusted. They would send him to a fucking crazy person hospital, and they’d make Rick leave. Mom would kick him out of the house, for sure.

He couldn’t let anyone find out— this _had_ to be kept a secret. Morty wouldn’t be able to handle it if everyone in his family knew— if they were _disgusted_ with him. He’d lose so much. Maybe he’d still have Rick, but if anyone found out... who knows what might happen. His whole life could completely fall apart. _That_ is what he would be risking if he ever told anyone, or if anyone ever found out.

After what felt like a short time, but was actually longer than he thought, someone snapped him out of his daze.

“Uh, something wrong with y-your pancakes, kid?” Rick asked, giving him a look of amusement and confusion. He thankfully spoke quietly enough as to not draw attention to them. No one else in the room seemed to noticed him freeze up.

Morty jumped slightly, turning to look at him. “T-t-t-they’re f-fine.” He stuttered. He cringed, hating how his stutter seemed to become exaggerated whenever he was nervous.

“Then why were y-you staring at them?” He smirked, though a part of him seemed a little concerned.

The teen frowned. “I-I wasn’t staring at them...” He grumbled. He hadn’t been staring _at_ then, exactly, but more... spacing out in their direction. So, basically _staring._ But Morty wasn’t going to admit to it. 

That’s when Rick knew something was bothering Morty. Whenever Morty denied something he did, even though it was extremely obvious, it was usually because Morty was trying to act natural while something was bugging him. He’d seen the kid do this plenty of times before, so it was quite easy for him to pick up on. He sighed, eating the last bite of his pancake. “M-meet me in the garage when y-you’re done eating.” He instructed, standing up to put his dishes in the sink and vanish into the garage.

Morty watched him go, wondering what Rick would want once he got to the garage. Maybe an adventure?— no, not today. Rick was working on upgrading his Portal Gun. There was definitely something up. He furrowed his brow in thought and scarfed down the rest of his food before he repeated Rick’s actions and entered the garage. He wanted to know what was going on.

Inside, he found Rick leaning against his work table with his arms crossed, waiting for him. And in that moment, he knew he’d fucked up. Whatever it was Rick wanted to talk about, it definitely involved something he did.

“W-what’s up, Rick?” He asked nervously, giving a weak smile. He had a bad feeling about this.

Rick looked unamused. “W-what’s wrong?” He asked bluntly. And then Morty understood— he’d noticed that Morty was acting weird at the table. _Fuck._

Morty furrowed his brow in confusion, pretending he didn’t know what the hell Rick was talking about. “W-what do you mean?”

Rick’s unamused expression seemed even more unamused now. “ _Morty,_ ” He had a warning tone to his voice. “Cut the bullshit.”

Morty groaned. Rick always knew when something was wrong with him. There was no point in hiding it. “O-okay, fine, y-you caught me.” He said, raising his hands in defense. “I j-just... well...” He paused, thinking about how he could convey his thoughts without actually revealing anything he wasn’t comfortable telling Rick at the moment. Maybe one day he’d want to tell Rick, but right now felt like far too soon. Either that, or he’ll get over his feelings. He hoped for the latter. “I-I had a dream last night, a-and it kinda... it bothers me, and it made me think about something disturbing.” A lightbulb suddenly went off in his mind. “Say Rick, I-is it possible to prevent certain dreams from happening again?”

“Well,” Rick uncrossed his arms and started rummaging through one of the boxes on the shelf behind him. He seemed happy that he was able to help Morty. “There’s only one w-way I know of, Morty. I-I-I’d have to use the I-i-uUURRRrRrp-inceptors and find the psychological reason w-why you’re having that specific dream.” He explained, pulling out the little box that Morty remembered held the inceptors. “And t-then I’ll be able to help y-you.”

“No.” Morty shook his head. “I-I don’t w-want y-y-you to see what the dream was about, a-alright?” He took a step back. “J-just... forget I asked. I-I’ve only had that dream once, a-and I’ve never had a re-occurring dream before, s-so I don’t even know if it’ll happen again anyway.” He was quickly backtracking from the situation. And he lied, because his nightmares were actually often re-occurring. He didn’t want Rick to know that, though. _Especially_ in this situation.

Rick placed the inceptor box on the table. “W-what’s so bad a-about your dream, Morty?” He asked. “I doubt whatever nightmare-ish s-shit happens in y-your dreams’ll freak me out.”

“I-I know!” Morty sighed dramatically. Not much ever seemed to freak Rick out, and he _knew_ that. He’d figured that out within the first _month_ of meeting Rick, when they’d walked in on an orgy a bunch of aliens were having, while _also_ eating each other to death at the same time. Rick didn’t even react to the crazy display, while Morty had thrown up several times due to seeing one pair of aliens that were half _dead, deformed_ , and covered in blood, and _still fucking each other somehow._ “B-but that doesn’t banish my embarrassment...”

Rick rose the end of his brow at his words. “‘ _Embarrassment?’”_

_Shit._ The teen flushed red. “Uggghhhh, please Rick, l-let’s just forget it...” He started anxiously playing with the hem of his shirt, his eyes darting to every place in the room besides Rick.

And as Rick pondered why Morty was acting so weird, a lightbulb went off in his own head as he connected the dots. His eyebrow rose high on his forehead, his eyes going wide. “D-don’t tell me...” Rick pointed at Morty. “ _You_ had a wet dream, didn’t you? A-a-a-about, well... uh...” He looked down at himself and then back up at Morty. They both knew that he was implying to himself. He’d highly doubted this would happen, but he’d _known_ it was a possibility. And now that he thought about it, all the signs had been there. Morty was around him more often, and he got flustered so much easier than before. God, he should have seen this coming! The kid had been acting weird for the past _two months!_ He felt dumb for not having picked up on it before. It had been so _obvious_ that the kid had been feeling some pretty mixed-up feelings since the Blits and Chitz incident.

All of the red in Morty’s cheeks vanished, and he became as white as a sheet. He met Rick’s eyes again, staring with his mouth agape. “W-wha— I don’t k-know— don’t know what y-you’re t-talking about, Rick, y-y-you got it all wrong.” He stammered.

Rick pinched the bridge of his nose, seeing straight through Morty’s anxious and desperate lie. “Alright,” He cleared his throat. “I’m g-gonna drop it. I can’t stop a dream like that from happening again, because you won’t let me use the inceptor. But I’m g-gonna drop this anyway.” He paused, lowering his hand from his face and giving Morty a worried look. “But... y-you gotta know it’s nothing to be ashamed of. You—you can’t _control_ it. Y-you’re allowed to talk to me about this stuff, a-bUURRrrp-and I won’t get mad.”

Morty’s crossed his arms over his chest protectively and stared at the floor. He felt broken down and completely exposed, now— like he was standing in the middle of a crowd, completely naked, with everyone’s eyes critiquing his every flaw. He hadn’t wanted Rick to find out, but he’d been so _careless._ Now he just had to hope things with Rick wouldn’t become awkward, and that no one else would find out. He shook his head. “I-I-I don’t want to think about this right now, Rick.” He said, his voice dull and on the edge of emotionless. “I-I g-gotta— I gotta go.” He started to quickly escape from the garage, heading back into the house.

“Morty, wait!”

Morty ignored Rick’s call, closing the door behind him quickly. He felt frustrated tears build up in his eyes, but he forced them down. _He needed to get ahold of himself, goddamn it!_

He went up to his room and closed the door, sliding down it so that he was sitting on the floor. In his back pocket, he could feel the outline of his phone resting against his body. Maybe it was time to talk to Morty B-183. Maybe, just _maybe_... it would help him a little bit.

He quickly pulled his phone out, wiping his eyes as he tried to compose himself. He hadn’t texted B-183 at all, and he didn’t know how he’d react to it right now. He just hoped the other Morty wasn’t mad at him for not reaching out sooner.

 

**_Morty: hello? are you there B-183? I need ur help with something..._ **

 

_**B-183: oh my gosh! C-137?!** _

 

_**Morty: yep. That’s me...** _

 

_**B-183: oh my gosh!** _

 

Morty rose a brow at B-183’s reaction.

 

**_Morty: are you ok?..._ **

 

**_B-183: oh, I’m fine! I’m just surprised you’re texting me. I thought I scared you away, or something..._ **

 

**_Morty: I’m sorry for reacting so badly to you and ur rick. I was just... surprised, I guess._ **

 

**_B-183: no worries, C-137. Im... actually kind of glad you know about it. That way, I’m not keeping any secrets, you know?_ **

 

**_Morty: yea_ **

 

**_B-183: so, what do you need?_ **

 

**_Morty: would it be okay if I asked you some questions?_ **

 

**_B-183: of course! Go ahead._ **

 

**_Morty:... how did you know you had feelings for your rick?_ **

 

**_B-183: well... I guess I sort of just knew. Do you still have a crush on the Jessica from your dimension? I feel that way, but for Rick._ **

 

**_Morty: I used to like Jessica... but I haven’t even really thout about her in the last couple months..._ **

**_Morty: thought*_ **

 

**_B-183: do you... think you have a crush on your Rick...??? Is that why you’re asking me this stuff?_ **

 

Morty’s breath caught for a second and he had to remind himself to breathe.

 

**_Morty: ...it’s complicated_ **

 

**_B-183: complicated how? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but... I promise I won’t judge you. You’re literally me, and I’m kind of in a relationship with my Rick already, so I wouldn’t have the right to anyway._ **

 

**_Morty: okay well I’m actually pretty sure I’m starting to like my Rick but it just feels wrong. And I didn’t feel like this before I saw you and ur Rick. I don’t know if my mind is playing tricks on me or if it’s actually real..._ **

 

Morty bit his lip, feeling his hands start to shake slightly. Admitting this to someone was strenuous on his soul.

 

_**B-183: well maybe you could talk to your rick about it? Wait, would he even be chill with it? Some Ricks aren’t okay with it... I really hope your rick isn’t like that.** _

 

_**Morty: My Rick already sort of knows somewhat about it :( And I don’t know if I even want to talk to him. I’m just so afraid of things going wrong, like mom finding out or not being good enough for Rick. I know he doesn’t care about the fact that I’m his grandkid, but I just can’t help but feel embarrassed and scared about it...** _

 

_**B-183: Rick is smart. If mom ever did find out, he’d know how to fix it. And I still think you should talk to him. It’ll make you feel better, I promise. I was like you at first, but then I told my Rick, and we talked it out. I was happy just knowing that Rick didn’t hate me, and that I was allowed to talk to him about it. Several months after I told my Rick, we got into some trouble in space. I was kidnapped, and Rick thought I was dead for a while. But when he found me, he was so happy and relieved that he kissed me. And, well, you know what happened after that. Rick and I have never been happier.** _

**B-183: sorry... I sorta rambled a little there, didn’t I?... sorry... > // <**

 

**_Morty: no, it’s fine... ur story was sweet. I’m glad you two are happy._ **

 

_**B-183: you can be happy, too, even if you don’t end up getting with your Rick.** _

 

Morty’s heart leaped into his throat at the thought of ever being with his Rick. He let out a shaky sigh, typing out a timid response.

 

_**Morty:... ok... I’ll talk to him...** _

 

_**B-183: awesome! Tell me how it goes, ok? I’ll be rooting for you!** _

 

_**Morty: thanks... for the advice. And I will. talk to you later.** _

 

_**B-183: ttyl** _

 

Morty pressed the power button on his phone, shoving it back into his pocket. He was going to keep to his word, and talk to Rick. He just didn’t know how... or when...

God, this whole day was going to suck, wasn’t it? He wished this was easier for him... he wished it was easier for him to talk to Rick about this.

Morty jumped when there was a knock on his door. “Morty?” Speak if the fucking devil. It was _Rick._ He freaking jinxed it. _‘Good job, Morty, give yourself a cookie and a pat on the back.’_ He sarcastically thought to himself. “Listen, I... I _know_ I said I’d drop it, but...” Rick trailed off on the other side of the door. “W-we both know I can’t j-just leave this situation the way it happened.”

Morty stood up from his place on the floor and cracked the door open slowly. Rick stared at him, looking anxious. “I-I don’t want to t-talk about it, b-b-but I guess we kinda h-have to now, don’t we?” Morty said, staring blankly at his feet. He was not ready for this at all.

Rick sighed. “Look,” He said. “I-if you don’t wanna t-talk about it, I won’t make you. You just gotta say the word, and e-everything will go back to normal.”

Morty looked up at him. “W-we _do_ have to talk about it though, Rick.” He looked up at him worriedly. It was getting to the point that he couldn’t ignore this anymore— he had to face the reality of how he felt. A few tears built up in his eyes before quickly running down his cheeks. He reached his hands up, trying to wipe them away— they had come so suddenly that Morty hadn’t realized they were coming until they were there.

“Woah, kid, you okay?” Rick reached forward, but he hesitated before touching the kid, not knowing if it would help or escalate the situation.

The tears wouldn’t stop flowing from his eyes, and he kept trying to wipe them away, turning away from Rick. His heart was suddenly swelling with emotions— fear, worry, disgust, wonder, frustration. And there were other emotions that he couldn’t identify or name. “O-obviously f-f-fucking _not._ ” He snapped, but he hadn’t meant to. His emotions were in a small, chaotic storm that he was forcibly trying to quell.

Rick stood still for a moment before pushing Morty back into his room and closing the door behind him. He wrapped his arms around the teen, pulling him into the first real hug he’d ever given to the boy.

Morty gasped, shocked that this was actually happening. The other times Rick had hugged him, it had only been side-hugs and quick bro-hugs. Rick had _never_ hugged him like this before. And that thought only made him cry harder. Hesitantly, he hugged Rick back, burying his face into the older man’s chest. “I-I’m so sorry, R-R-Rick.” He sobbed.

Rick ran his hand up and down Morty back in a way that he hoped was comforting. “F-for what? You have nothing to be sorry for, Morty...”

Morty sniffled, shaking in Rick’s grasp. “F-for being so _weird_ about this.” He explained. “I-I thought I’d just be a-able to let it g— let the whole thing go, a-and things could just be normal. B-but now my he-head is all _fucked,_ and my thoughts are all _fucked._ This whole situation is just so _fucked._ ”

Rick chuckled and pulled Morty back, keeping his hands on his shoulders. He looked into Morty glossy, tear filled eyes, searching them for something. “I-It’s not _fucked_ unless you let it be, Morty.” He said. “W-we can work through this.”

Morty looked away. He couldn’t help but think that Rick was acting sort of out of character, like he was actually trying really hard to put Morty’s mind a ease—something Rick never really did. He pushed that thought to the side for now. “T-that’s just it, Rick...” He said. “I-I-I don’t even know if I _want_ to work through it...”

The scientist frowned, struggling to follow why Morty would want to avoid this so badly. The teen shouldn’t have to suffer like this, and Rick was open to talk about this and help in any way that he can. “W-why not?”

Morty pulled away from Rick, walking over to his bed and sitting down on it. “I-I’m j-just... I feel so... _wrong._ I’m n-n-not _supposed_ to like my _grandpa._ I-I’m supposed to like teenage girls w-with large boobs, a-a-and— and cute personalities. O-or maybe even other _boys_ my age.” He shrugged. “A-and I didn’t—... I didn’t _feel_ this way _before_ I saw them in the bathroom...” He groaned, running his hands through his hair in frustration and sniffling, still trying to clear his tears. “It’s just so...” He groaned again, laying back on his bed and draping his arm over his eyes. 

Rick slowly made his way to Morty’s bed and sat down next to him, the springs squeaking noisily as he did so. There were a few moments of silence as Rick thought about what to say— he wasn’t really good at this kind of stuff. “You sh—...” He stopped himself, still not quite so sure how to word things. He sighed, leaning back against the wall. “W-when y-you travel around the universe as much as I have, y-y-y-you start to realize how ridiculous Earth is. A-and I know you’re not... well, _me,_ b-but I _do_ know that... with time, of course, y-you start to not care about that k-kind of shit. I-It’ll get better.”

Morty lifted his arm off of his head and looked up at Rick as he continued to speak.

“W-with time, you will learn to except y-yourself. J-just like I have...” He trailed off.

Morty squinted up at him in confusion, wiping his face with his hands. He was starting to calm down slightly, his tears slowly coming to a stop. “W-what do you mean?”

Rick chuckled, shaking his head. For a moment, he had forgotten that he’d never really been so open around Morty in the past. “Y-y-you think I was c-completely fine with myself w-when I started lusting after a-all kinds of weird shit when I-I was younger and new to the rest of the universe?” He gave Morty a borderline incredulous look. “I-I was young once, too, and I was raised on Earth and taught by their standards, too.” He shrugged. “But, then I started hanging out I-I-in space and I realize how unnecessarily strict and... and _judge-y_ Earth is.”

Morty turned over on his side, facing away from Rick. He didn’t want Rick to be able to see his face right now. “News-flash, Rick,” He said drily. “I still _live_ on Earth, and everyone else in my family would be disgusted w-with me if they found out how I feel. So, I kinda _have_ to live by all of the dumb, strict, social rules. T-this is my home, whether I like it or not...”

Rick sighed again. “If a-anyone ever finds out, I’ll make a memory gun.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I-I’d fix it right up, take that— snip that memory right outta their head.” He already had a memory gun, but he wasn’t going to tell Morty that. Morty’s Mindblowers has always ended in disaster, and he’d stopped erasing Morty’s mind over a year ago, because he’d started to feel guilty whenever he’d do it..

Morty turned back to look at Rick, looking surprised. “Y-y-you’d do that?”

Rick shrugged, trying to shove away his guilty feelings over the times when he’d thought it was acceptable to erase any memory from Morty’s mind that he wanted. “Gotta do what you g-gotta do, kid.” He’d never use that thing on Morty again, not unless Morty ever asked him to.

“Th— thanks, Rick.” Morty felt a small amount of relief wash over him. Not that he would go yapping about his feelings now, but he felt reassured knowing that Rick would be able to fix things if anyone ever found out. It was also _way_ better than skipping out on this dimension and going to another one. He couldn’t do that a second time. “I-I-I appreciate that.”

“You’re welcome.” Rick responded absentmindedly, seeming to suddenly be lost in thought as he pulled his flask out and took a small swig.

Morty sat up, staring at the flask with worry. “Y-you alright, Rick?” He asked. Rick had been improving on his drinking a lot recently, no longer drinking to the point of blacking out or waking up so hungover he couldn’t walk. He still did drink pretty much every day, but only seemed to do it whenever he was thinking about something or particularly stressed out. And Rick was always thinking about _something._

Rick blinked a couple times before turning to him. “Y-yeah,” He took another swig from his flask. “I-I was just... thinking about something.” Morty felt a little bit of self-pride swell in his chest for guessing what Rick was doing, even though it had been kind of obvious.

He watched as a little bit of red colored the mans cheeks, which only served to send him further into confusion. “Uh, a-about what?” Mortys voice was slightly strained, like he was worried of what the answer might be.

Rick seemed to debate telling him for a moment before shaking his head and deciding against it. “Nothin’.” He stuffed his flask back into his coat pocket.

Morty rolled his eyes, huffing slightly. Of course; he opened up to Rick and spilled his guts, and when Rick has the chance to do the same, he doesn’t. Typical, typical Rick. He muttered a quiet ‘whatever’ as he resumed his position on the bed where he laid down and draped his arm over his head.

Rick groaned, frustrated by Morty’s reaction. “Fine, I-I-I’ll tell you!” He growled. He didn’t want Morty to be like that. “But it’s g-gonna get awkward in here.”

“I-it already _is_ awkward.” Morty made a hand gesture that told him to continue.

“I-I was t-thinking about that offer I’d made you back in the Blits and Chitz parking lot.” He explained, and Morty shot back up again, staring at him with wide eyes as he understood what Rick was referring to. Before he could speak, though, Rick continued. “I...” He hesitated. “I meant w-what I said. I-I don’t care about the whole...” Rick twirled his finger in a circle as he spoke. “ _Incest_ thing.”

“Y-you’re offering to have sex w-with me? _Really,_ Rick?” Morty glared at him. “ _Right now?_ Of _all_ times?”

“No!” Rick glared back at him, rolling his eyes with a groan. “J-Jesus, Morty! I’m not s-saying that! Y-you teenagers sure do have a one-track mind.”

Morty scoffed. “T-then what the hell did you mean?! I-It sounded pretty straightforward to _me,_ Rick...”

“Read between t-the fucking lines, _dipshit,_ ” The scientist poked him in the chest, carefully enough to not hurt him but hard enough to get his point across. “I-I was talking about _dates,_ ‘n shit. Y-you know, get a little taste to s-see if it actually does feel right.” He ran a hand over his face exaggeratedly. “S-sex isn’t even on t-the agenda, Morty. That’s only _if_ t-things worked out between us. T-taking small steps w-would give us both the chance to g-get the hell outta dodge if t-this turns out not to work for us. And w-when I say small steps Morty, I mean _small fucking baby steps_. Don’t wanna rush things. A-and this is _only_ an offer, so keep that in mind, too. I’m willing to swing both ways, Morty. W-we can test the waters and see where it goes, o-or we can keep things just the way they are right now. Either way is fine by me, and it’s entirely up to you.”

Morty listened to Rick’s words intently, taking them to heart, and to consideration. “D-do you even... _like_ me in that way, Rick?”

Rick smiled at him. “Y-you’re the closest person to me, Morty. I-I care about you more than anyone, so... i-if things ended up getting a little romantic between us, I-I’m sure my current feelings towards you would develop with it.” He was certain, in his heart, that he could learn to love Morty eventually. And he was certain, also, that, to some degree, he already did love him.

Morty frowned at him, playing with the hem of his shirt nervously as he leaned back against the wall next to Rick. “I-I don’t want to do this I-if you d-don’t feel the same way.” He said. “I-If we did, y-you’d only be doing it to make me happy, but... I want you to be happy, too... and y-you _won’t_ be if you’re with someone y-you don’t really like. I-I don’t want to force you into a r-relationship y-you end up not being okay with.” He didn’t feel okay with being the only one to decide on whether of not _they_ wanted to try this out. He needed confrontation from Rick that he wanted to do it as well, _if_ Morty decided he wanted to try.

“T-that’s why I suggested testing the waters _first,_ Morty.” Rick sighed, running a hand through his hair. “So that either of us can back out, y-you know? I’m I-in this, too. I-I wouldn’t only be doing it for y-you, I-I’d be doing it partly for myself as well.” He paused. “M-maybe it could do us both some good...”

Morty stared at Rick a moment, thinking about what ‘testing the waters,’ as Rick so eloquently put it, would be like. “P-promise me y-you’ll stop everything if it doesn’t work for you. I-I-If you have any, and I mean _any_ doubt, you’ll end it. Promise me.” He reached forward, grabbing Rick’s arm tightly. He could feel his heart rabidly beating in his chest, so fast he was almost sure it would break one of his ribs. Asking Rick to promise him this was giving the impression that he was choosing to ‘test the waters.’ But truth be told, he still wasn’t ready to decide. Things were moving too fast for him.

Rick looked back at him, placing his hand over Morty’s. “I promise.” He said genuinely.

Morty let out a breath, not realizing that he’d been holding one. He slumped forward so that his head crashed into Rick’s shoulder gently.

Rick maneuvered around so that he could wrap his arm around Morty’s shoulders and pull him closer. “S-so does— does that mean...?” He left the question to hang in the air.

Morty shook his head. “N-no... I-I-I’m still...” He let out a shaky breath. “I-I still d-don’t know what I want to do. T-tell me, Rick...” He paused. “W-what is it that _you_ want to do?”

Rick furrowed his brow, rubbing Morty’s shoulder gently. “H-honestly?” He said. “I-I wanna give it a go. I-if we don’t try, we’ll never know if it would work, a-and it could be a missed opportunity. But if we _do_ try...” He smirked. “It could work, and we’ll be happy. And if it doesn’t, we can go back to normal.”

“B-but...” Morty twisted himself slightly, angling himself so that he could look up at Rick. “W-what happens i-I-if it only works for one of us, and the other gets their heart broken?”

Rick’s eyes softened. “I-I guess that depends on whether or not we’re both willing to take that risk...” Rick, himself, was willing to take that risk. He knew that he already loved Morty, in a way. And if he indulged himself in that kind or relationship with Morty, he’d surely get even more attached to Morty than he already was. He wasn’t sure if Morty would be able to love him back, but... either way, Rick would be the only one to get hurt if it didn’t work out.

Morty would be fine loving him. Morty would be fine _not_ loving him. And because of that, Rick was willing to take that risk.

Morty thought about Rick’s words. _Would he be willing to take a risk like that?_ He couldn’t tell. _Would it be better to experience love, but be heart broken, or to never experience it, and be fine?_

 

_Would it be worth it?_

 

The question repeated in his mind a few times. _Would it be worth it, even if he ended up heartbroken in the end?_

Morty pushed himself away from Rick, breathing heavily. His mind was being too loud, and everything was moving too fast. He couldn’t think like this— he was trying so hard to just follow his heart, but with trying to do that came a bunch of conflicting and confusing emotions. His heart, obviously, told him he wanted Rick— but the logic in his head told him that it would be a mistake, because Rick was his grandfather, and if anyone found out, it would be catastrophic.

Even if Rick ended up erasing memories just to keep their secret, _his_ memories would still be intact— and he’d have to live with the experience of having seen their faces once they found out.

Head or heart, feelings or logic— _back and fourth!_ He couldn’t pick a side, because he wanted so badly to give him and Rick a chance, but he knew the risks that came with it. He could end up heartbroken, someone could find out, he could _lose_ Rick— _Fuck, he couldn’t think right now._

Rick backed up, raising his hands up to show that he meant no harm. _‘You’re freaking him out, you idiot!’_ Rick’s thoughts screamed. “S-shit...” Rick stood from the bed, backing up several more feet. “I-I’m sorry if I freaked y-you out. W-we don’t have to do this— I don’t want to it you don’t want to, okay? I’m sorry...” He turned to leave, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world. What was he thinking, asking Morty if he wanted to try being in a relationship? _‘What the hell is wrong with me?’_

Morty paid close attention to Rick’s face and body language as he spoke, picking up that he seemed panicked and embarrassed, like he’d just majorly fucked something up. While he didn’t like that Rick was acting like that, he was glad that it gave him something else to think about for a moment— in his heart _and_ his head, he cared about Rick as family— as his _best friend._ And was clearly in destress and he wanted to help him.

As Rick started to walk away, Morty, himself, started to feel panicked and he practically leaped from his bed and charged at Rick, grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

Rick turned to look at him in confusion. He looked like he was trying to plan an escape. “Wha—“

“Y-you didn’t freak me out!” Morty cut him off, pulling on Rick’s arm to drag him away from the door. “I-I just— I can’t _think._ My head says one thing while my h-heart says something else... and it’s kinda conflicting with my decision m-making skills...” He trailed off.

Rick seemed to relax almost instantly, closing his eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath. “W-well, no one said you have to figure it out _right now._ ” He placed a hand on Morty’s shoulder. “T-take your time—“

 

“Let’s try it.”

 

Rick’s eyebrow shot up. “W-wait, what?” He wasn’t sure if he’d heard that correctly or not.

Morty’s cheeks went bright red. The words had just come out of him— he hadn’t really planned on saying it, but for half a fucking second his mind had stilled and his heart had taken over— for just that moment, he’d held clarity. He knew what he wanted, and his heart told him that the risks were worth it, so he’d went with it. He wanted so desperately to make a decision, so he’d just gone with the first thing that came to mind to say. He cleared his throat, reiterating what he’d said. “Let’s try it.”

Rick looked increasingly worried. “A-are— are you sure? J-just a second ago—“

Morty reached forward and grabbed the labels of Rick’s lab coat. Swiftly, he pushed himself up on his tippy-toes, and pressed his mouth against Rick’s for one, quick, fleeting moment before pulling away again. He felt like he was going to have a heart attack, and he was pretty sure his face was on fire.

Rick froze, staring down at Morty in surprise with his eyes wide open and his mouth parted slightly. Morty wasn’t meeting his eyes, instead looking around the room anxiously as he waited for Rick to do something. The scientist hadn’t expected that to happen _at all._

“Morty,” He cleared his throat, ignoring the fact that his cheeks were starting to feel warm. “Y-you— you don’t have to make a decision _right now,_ alright? _Literally_ a goddamn second ago y-you were losing your shit over this. I-I don’t want you to rush; it’s not the end o-of the world.”

“I know...” Morty released his hold on Rick’s lab coat, shrinking down slightly. “B-but...” He let out a nervous chuckle as he ran a hand through his curly brown hair. “I-I kinda... w-w-well, I kinda just let m-myself say ‘s-screw it’ for a moment... and it kinda j-just... came out, I guess...” He paused for a moment. “A-and I’m not gonna take it back! I-I went with my gut, I guess, w-whatever the hell _that_ means, and I’m g— I wanna see what happens! M-maybe you’re right. M-maybe... maybe it’ll be good for us...”

Rick chuckled, pulling Morty into another hug. He couldn’t keep a smile off his face. He pulled him back after a moment, hands still on his shoulders. “This is gonna be great!” He grinned, feeling excitement course though his veins. He wanted to make this as special for Morty as he could— he wanted this to work. “I’m gonna try to m-make things as a-amazing as possible for us, Morty! I-I’m gonna take you to so many awesome places! Y-y-you’re gonna love it!”

Morty smiled, feeling that familiar butterfly feeling in his stomach. Rick’s smile was absolutely wonderful. It warmed his heart whenever he saw it.

Yeah, maybe this would be good for them.

 

 

 

Maybe this was meant to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment, I love to hear everyone’s thoughts! It really warms my heart to know that people actually enjoy the stuff I put out there. <3

**Author's Note:**

> Don’t worry! More chapters are to come. Eventually. I probably shouldn’t be writing this while I have other stuff to write, too, but hey, whenever I’m inspired, I’m inspired, and it bothers me until I write it down, so there you go.
> 
> What do you guys think? I’d love to hear your opinions.


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